2006 Dodge Ram 3500 - Mega Slab

A Dodge That Dodge Never Built

At first sight, John Cranford's '06 Dodge Ram 3500 Mega Cab longbed dualie looks like a factory-fresh truck with a hammered stance. If that's what you saw when you checked it out, you'd be partly correct. It is a hammered Mega Cab longbed dualie, but what you may not know is, Dodge never made one. Figuring that a Mega Cab standard bed was plenty big enough, Dodge never added the longbed as an option, and for you Mopar fans out there, you know that the factory Mega Cab dualie bed looks like a design afterthought. Attractive it is not. Chicken House Chop Shop set out to add two feet to John's '06 Dodge Ram 3500 and then make it low enough to turn the most die-hard custom truck enthusiast's head at shows.

To tuck the desired 24-inch Alcoa wheels, the Chicken House Chop Shop, located in Nacogdoches, Texas, started by removing the front suspension and shortening the control arms 4 inches. Then they welded the upper and lower control arms higher on the frame, added 'bag cups to the lower arms for the Slam Specialties 'bags, and modified the front sway bar. A new tranny crossmember was also fabricated between the framerails and helps clear the slammed stance. Behind the cab, 24 inches of frame was added, the rearend was narrowed 10 total inches and moved back 18 inches, and a traditional four-link with Watt's link welded together to support it. Airlift airbags allow the longbed to hover over the asphalt and a wild bridge with a 5/8-inch-thick state of Texas plate serves as a 5th-wheel gooseneck. A low-profile toolbox/fuel tank combo was installed to provide hours of continuous driving and the factory sending unit was retained to keep the check engine light off. The aforementioned 24-inch Alcoa wheels are wrapped in 275/30R24 Sunny tires and the lugnut spikes add some real attitude to the beast.

Body mods on the Ram are simple, including shaving the cab lights, adding a billet grille, and bolting on the dualie longbed. The factory charcoal paint color was not an option on the Ram dualie, but Edward Martinez made sure the Dodge now looks its best in the hue. Under the hood, the 5.9L Cummins was left alone, with the exception of a new 4-inch exhaust. John's Dodge dualie is an understated custom truck with factory good looks and the get-in-and-drive functionality that all of us want in our rides. We look forward to future trucks rolling out of the Chicken House Chop Shop.